Learn Hardcore Malay: Penerbangan antarabangsa ini akan berlepas dari lapangan terbang baharu yang paling moden. - This international flight will depart from the new airport that is the most modern.

In Malay, demonstrative pronouns such as ini (this) and itu (that) always follow the noun or noun phrase they modify. So penerbangan antarabangsa ini literally means “the international flight this,” which we translate as “this international flight.” Placing ini before the noun (e.g., ini penerbangan) is ungrammatical in Malay.

What is the function of akan in this sentence?

Akan is a future‐tense marker in Malay. It goes immediately before the verb to indicate that the action will take place in the future. Here, akan berlepas translates to “will depart.” Malay verbs do not inflect for tense, so particles like akan are used to show time.

What does berlepas mean, and how is it formed?

Berlepas means “to depart” or “to take off” (as for a plane). It is formed by adding the verbal prefix ber- to the root lepas (which by itself can mean “to release” or “to pass”). In this case, berlepas creates an intransitive verb meaning “to take off/depart.” Note that terlepas (with ter-) is a different verb, meaning “to miss” or “to escape.”

Why is dari used instead of daripada for “from”?

Both dari and daripada can mean “from,” but they have slightly different uses. Dari is the common preposition for indicating origin or point of departure (e.g., berlepas dari lapangan terbang = “depart from the airport”). Daripada is often used in comparisons (“better than” = lebih baik daripada) or to mean “made of.” In spoken and most written Malay, dari is the usual choice for “from” in this context.

Why do modifiers like antarabangsa, baharu, and yang paling moden come after the noun penerbangan or lapangan terbang?

Malay noun phrases are head-initial, meaning the main noun comes first, followed by any adjectives, numbers, demonstratives, or relative clauses. So you have penerbangan (flight) + antarabangsa (international) + ini (this). Similarly, lapangan terbang (airport) + baharu (new) + yang paling moden (that is most modern). This is the opposite of English, where adjectives precede the noun.

What is the function of yang in yang paling moden? Can we omit it?

Yang is a relative pronoun in Malay, roughly equivalent to “that/which” in English. It introduces the descriptive clause paling moden (“most modern”). You will often see yang used to connect nouns to adjectives or adjectival phrases. In many cases, especially with paling, you can omit yang and say lapangan terbang paling moden, but including yang is more formal and commonly taught in textbooks.

How do you form the superlative in Malay, like “most modern”?

The superlative is usually formed by placing paling (most) before the adjective: paling moden = “most modern.” There is also a prefix ter- that in some cases creates a superlative (e.g., tertinggi = “highest”), but not all adjectives take ter-. Moden is a borrowed word and does not have a ter- form, so paling moden is the correct choice.

What is the difference between baharu and baru?

Both baharu and baru mean “new,” but baharu is slightly more formal or literary and often indicates “brand-new” or “recently introduced.” Baru is the common everyday term. In this sentence, baharu emphasizes that the airport is newly built or opened.

How is antarabangsa constructed, and why is it written as one word?

Antarabangsa is a compound of antara (“between”) and bangsa (“nations” or “races”). In modern Malay orthography, compound words like this are usually written as a single word. Antarabangsa therefore literally means “between nations,” i.e., international.

What does penerbangan literally mean, and how does it relate to terbang?

Penerbangan is a noun formed from the root terbang (“to fly”) with the agentive prefix pe- and nominalizing suffix -an, yielding “the act of flying” or “flight.” So penerbangan = “flight” (the event or service), while terbang = “to fly.”

What does lapangan terbang literally translate to, and why is it used for “airport”?

Lapangan comes from lapang (“open” or “spacious”) plus the suffix -an, creating “field” or “open area.” Terbang means “to fly.” Together, lapangan terbang literally means “airfield” — the place where planes fly in and out — which corresponds to “airport” in English.